Weekend Birding: Northern Flicker

When I went out to refill the bird feeders this evening I startled a large bird rummaging in the wood chips near the fence. It was a Northern Flicker and it blended in so well I didn’t even notice it was there until it flew up into the pine tree. I don’t see Flickers in my yard that often, maybe a few times a year. I ran in the house and grabbed my camera.

The northern flicker is a medium-sized brown woodpecker patterned with black spots and bars and a black crescent on the breast. They have a white rump patch that’s visible in flight and sometimes when perched. There is also a flash of color in the wings visible in flight – yellow in eastern birds and red in the western residents. (Click on the photo to the left to see the yellow in the wing).

Unlike most woodpeckers, which are usually found climbing the large branches of old trees, it’s not unusual to find a Flicker on the ground digging for bugs.

Soon a pair of Flickers reappeared in the yard. In the photo below the male is on the left and the female is on the right. The male is identified by the black moustache stripes which are absent in the female.

After a few minutes of sitting on my garden shed they decided it was a good place to do a little mating. Yup, they did. Look close and you can see he’s standing on her back. Most likely they have a nest in a nearby yard which is exciting because that means baby Flickers in a few months.

Interesting Facts:

Flickers prefer to find food on the ground using their long barbed tongue to lap up ants, a favorite.

The Flicker is one of the few North American Woodpeckers that is migratory.

Flickers nest in cavities in trees and both the male and female incubate the eggs.

23 Comments

As the Flicker is not a bird native to our country, I am ashamed to say that I have not heard of it before.

We do have Woodpeckers here in the UK, but they are quite elusive and not seen in most urban or rural gardens.

Fortunately for me, our home backs onto a lightly wooded lane and from time to time the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker does visit the Oak tree right opposite my kitcken window, although he is usually only easily visible in the Spring and Autumn, when the tree is not shrouded by foliage.

I have yet to see a redpoll although I heard they migrated farther south this winter and some people got to see them. I’ve already seen a few warblers and am going out for a walk today to see if I can spot a few more migrants before the trees get too leafy.

One of my favourite birds. Awesome shots. We usually see one or two a year in our yard. They don’t usually stick around for very long. Just a couple of days and they are off again. I hope we get to see babies soon!

Try putting out a sunflower seed feeder. Lots of birds like sunflower. Even the ones that don’t eat seed will start to come in the yard when they see other birds around. Starlings can’t fit on those feeders, they would if they could, I think they’ll eat anything.